Unfold Me
by KKSG
Summary: Homophobic bullies, self-destructive habits and a ruined family. Kurt soon learns theres more than what meets the eye when it comes to Santana Lopez. Before 2x08. Brittana. Kurtana friendship.
1. Chapter 1

_Help, I have done it again  
>I have been here many times before<br>Hurt myself again today  
>And, the worst part is there's no-one else to blame <em>

Drip. Drip. A sigh. Red against cream. Eyes shut. Shoulders slouch, hair curtains. Carefully clutched, arms hanging, head ducked. Flick of a wrist. Pain. Pain. Pain. Relief. Pain. Relief. Fading now. Numb again. Another. Pain. Pain. Relief. Pain. Relief. Eyes watching now. Red drips, red against cream.

Brown eyes watch as each red bead slides down olive skin. A hint of a bitter smile. The sharp pain is revelled in, slowly her hand reaches down. Fingers touch red on cream, head lifts, hand follows. Red on olive skin, fingers rub. Red spreads across her fingers. Relief is short. Numb, Numb again. Feet move. Pain, another sigh. Eyes close. Pain. Relief. Blade dropped, she stands. Wetness on face ignored, no more red against cream. Now just cream. Pain faded, relief follows. Flooded numb, enclosing emptiness. Slow deep breaths, careful wrapping, red soaked tissues thrown. Engulfing hollow.

_Be my friend  
>Hold me, wrap me up<br>Unfold me  
>I am small<br>I'm needy  
>Warm me up<br>And breathe me _

A shove. A grunt. A clang. Eyes shut. A sneer, narrowed eyes. A grimace, white knuckles, head ducked. Snickers, a snarl, eyes flash. Anger, confusion, frustration, pain, fear. Dropping, sliding, stopping. Footsteps walking away. Relief, frustration, anger, fear.

Blue eyes watch as the hulking forms walk off, others around pretend not to see. The stinging pain in his back is ignored, slowly he stands on rickety legs. Hands clutched tight around his black leather LV bag he turns and continues on, head held high. Courage. Untouchable, fearless. Turning the corner, alone- eyes shut and a shaky breath is released. Overwhelming fear cripples. Tears sting, but held back. Hand hurts from hitting wall, a whispered swear. Slow, deep breaths, eyes open, and steps are taken forward again. Fear pushed back, frustration builds.

_Ouch I have lost myself again_  
><em>Lost myself and I am nowhere to be found,<em>  
><em>Yeah I think that I might break<em>  
><em>I've lost myself again and I feel unsafe<em>

It was dark. The only light in the small messy room came from the orange streams of light of the old street lamp outside. But the night is not silent. Not in the least. The slim form laying on an old mattress bed is curled on her side the old comforter drawn around her like a cocoon. Head buried in the single thin pillow. Dark hair curls around slim tan olive shoulders. Eyes are clenched shut, musics plays loudly from the black headphones over her ears. Hands clench and unclench.

Outside the music are screams, glass shatters, slaps, cries, whimpers, sobs. The creak of wood, the crack of wood, the splintering of wood. The thump against walls, the pleas, the whispers, the threats.

The door to her room is barricaded with an old drawer, a table and a chair, also double locked. Thumping against the blocked down, swears and threats, promises. The girl only curls into herself more and and loses herself in the music. In the darkness. In the fake silent night, lit by only streams of orange from a street lamp- she pretends to not hear. And she thinks on red on cream, on relief and pain. On feelings. She blocks out all else. Eyes trained on only one thing. A photo frame.

_Be my friend_  
><em>Hold me, wrap me up<em>  
><em>Unfold me<em>  
><em>I am small<em>  
><em>I'm needy<em>  
><em>Warm me up<em>  
><em>And breathe me<em>

Yellow, purple, blue, black. An unhealthy colour against his fair skin. He grimaces as he peers at his own back in the mirror. Hesitant fingers touch one of the newer ones on the back of his ribs. A kick gifted him this one. The pain of his injuries are so many, he is so used to them that he easily blocks it all out. Courage after all.

The soundtrack of _The Sounds of Music_ plays around him, and he hums as he spreads balm over the bruises with an almost clinical touch now. Blue eyes are cold as he does this. Pain flares up if he moves in a certain way but he plows on forth. Sue Sylvester may call him Porcelain but he isn't that fragile.

The sound of footsteps up stairs alerts him to pull on a shirt, shoving the balm in a drawer he pins up his bangs and begins moisturizing. A knock on his door, then it opens. He turns and smiles at his father who tells him dinner is nearly ready. He nods along and turns back to his reflection, the door shuts and his smile fades. The music plays behind him, the shirt hides the ugly marks of hatred, and he just stares into the mirror at himself. Blue eyes drift to the side to a photo frame. He breathes in deeply. Courage.

_Be my friend_  
><em>Hold me, wrap me up<em>  
><em>Unfold me<em>  
><em>I am small<em>  
><em>I'm needy<em>  
><em>Warm me up<em>  
><em>And breathe me<em>

She tilts her head, shutting her locker she turns hearing the reverberating sound of someone slamming into lockers. Was the coach on a rampage again? Not much to rampage on with class in session. No, Sylvester was principal now. She had no reason to rampage like that, she finally had the power seat in the school.

With a combination of reluctance of showing up to Spanish late and curiosity she strode down the hall and peered around the corner. What she saw made her feet cement to the floor and her eyes to widen. With a whispered "fuck" she pulls the strap of her Cheerios duffel bag over her head. Steeling her face she strides forward.

The hall appears empty as she walks, whoever had been there had cleared out quickly. Her eyes were train on a garbage bin however. With each step her eyes narrow trained on a familiar bag lying on the ground near the bin. She stepped passed it with a single glance confirming her suspicions. The Louis Vuitton bag belonged to only one person in WMHS. Kurt Hummel. She stands before the bin and hears a sound coming from inside, she reaches her hand forward and pauses before touching the lid. Shutting her eyes she breaths in deeply and lifts the lid up, she steps closer and looks down. What she finds makes her bite her lip. Pushing the lid back she bends down and picks up the bag on the floor. After shouldering it she glances from the bin to various doors before her.

Finally with one look at the unconscious and broken boy stuffed inside the garbage bin, dark brown eyes take on a determined gleam.


	2. Chapter 2

He woke to blinding pain and considerable confusion. Squeezing his already closed eyes even tighter, the memories of what happened flooded his mind. With some deep even breaths he managed to get some control of himself again and attempted to push away his pain to figure out where he was. He was lying down, which meant someone had found him in that bin because _he_ certainly wouldn't dump him in there and then pull him out.

This brought on some panic and fear at the realization that someone now knew. His hands clenched, and he noted the material under him was soft but thin, he could distinctly feel the hard material beneath what he could tell was a blanket or sheet of some sort. His head was elevated slightly as was his right foot by some sort of soft squishy material that he could also tell were not pillows. Forcing his eyes open he stared up and found sky. Blue, sky with some clouds. He blinked now finding himself completely bewildered.

The sound of footsteps had his mind screaming at him in warning and he jerked his sore, bruised body upwards. He managed to sit up enough to lean back on his hands. Bad idea. His entire front and back was now in searing pain and it took all his will power to not drop down- as that would only hurt him more. Biting his lower lip a whimper escaped him despite his efforts to stay quiet.

"You're awake."

He opened his eyes hearing that voice. No. No it couldn't be could it? He looked and found himself staring at the face of Satan. Or perhaps Satan's human daughter? Santana Lopez stood before him, he realized vaguely that he was laying in the back of a truck. His foot was elevated on a folded hoodie. Wordlessly the cheerleader climbed up into the back of the truck. He stared at her with wide eyes, she rolled hers in response. He sat there completely tense watching her with narrowed eyes and a set jaw. Instead she knelt down next to him and opened what appeared to be a first aid kit. He glanced at it in disbelief and tried to meet her eyes. But her dark eyes had dropped to his elevated right foot which he stared at blankly. His dazed state came to a slow conclusion that his foot was not nearly that fat when he woke up in the morning. Her hands reached for it, one supporting the heel the other grasped the top of his foot. He cried out as she moved it just slightly.

"What the hell Santana?" he shouted at her. She rolled her eyes at him again and turned back to the first aid kit.

"It's probably sprained." she told him and pulled out some wrappings. "You'll need to ice it for fifteen minutes then wait 20 minutes before icing it again." she stated. She began wrapping his foot, he bit his lip to prevent himself from crying out loud again as pain spiked up his foot. "You'll need an x-ray to make sure it isn't a fracture or somethin'" she muttered lowly, eyes fixed on her wrapping.

"What...?" he said vaguely the pain had knocked him into a dizzying haze. Leaving him staring dumbly at the Latina who had finished wrapping his foot expertly.

She let out an exasperated sigh. "You. Hurt. Your. Foot." she told him like he was a toddler. She pulled out a small packet of Advil from the kit and passed him a water bottle from behind her. Shoving the small red pills into his hands she glared at him. He held them not quite sure if he was dreaming this all up or if he was simply hallucinating due to a concussion given to him from his earlier beating.

"Swallow the damn pills Hummel!" she snarled causing him to quickly follow the command. Once the cool water passed down his throat he managed to get some semblance of his thought process back.

"What happened?" he asked her taking another couple sips of water finding himself suddenly very thirsty. His question came out smaller and quieter than he wanted causing him to frown. The olive skinned girl gave him a blank pointed look in return.

"Unless you suffered brain trauma I'm pretty sure you know what the fuck happened." she said harshly. "And I checked, your pretty little head is probably the only unbruised part on you." Santana scowled. She shut the first aid kit with overdone, exaggerated angry movements causing the boy to tilt his head in confusion at her current state.

"So you...found me then." he said instead of asking since it was obviously what had happened. "Why didn't you bring me to the nurses office?"

"Would you rather I did?" she shot back, he shook his head. "Thought so." she said with a hard but triumphant nod. "If you wanted someone to know you would have said something sooner instead of letting yourself get the crap beaten out of you."

He capped the water bottle and rested his hands on his lap, his panic fading as the idea of Santana helping him settled. He stared at her carefully, examining the girl's hard expression and her dark eyes. Her lips were pressed into a tight line, her arms were crossed over her chest as she knelt down next to his legs. Finally he looked around noting they were in the back corner of the school's parking lot.

"Whose car is this?" he asked quietly wanting to delay the forthcoming questions he knew were about to be thrown at him.

"Mine." she stated, he turned his head back and raised his eyebrows in surprise at that answer.

"Yours?" he echoed in disbelief. He was seated in a dark red Chevi truck that was probably decades old. This looked more like a car his father would drive, or Finn. Finn's own truck was blue however, and from what he could see as he peered around from the back of the red Chevi- Finn's car was in worst condition than the one he was currently occupying.

"No fuck. I'm not stupid enough to put you in someone else's car." Santana sighed, her tone clearly indicating her irritation at his current stupid level of conversation.

"It's just." he paused and stared at her. "You drive a truck?" he asked hesitantly.

Her jaw suddenly tensed and her pupils narrowed. "Is that a fucking problem?" she practically spat.

Kurt stared at her, the situation was edging on surreal for him. He wakes up after getting beaten up to find himself in the back of a red truck, owned by none other than Santana Lopez- who if his memory was serving him correctly had never held on conversation with him. Here she was helping him of all things, she had yet to call him any names, or bitch at him for being a weak homo or something. Instead she had carried him all the way here herself, given him first aid and seemed to have no goal of giving him a lecture about telling a teacher.

"Who are you?" he blurted out and instantly flinched in regret. He shut his eyes expecting to be slapped or punched or even a barbed retort. Instead he got silence. Puzzled he peeked one eyes open and found her staring at him with a small smile on her red thick lips. Then she raised a single eyebrow as he opened his second eye and finally the strangest thing happened.

She laughed.

Like really laughed, it wasn't maniacal, but it certainly wasn't happy sounding. It was borderlining amusement and bitterness. Before he could analyze the anomaly of Santana Lopez laughing, it stopped abruptly and her expression was set serious again.

"Look Hummel," she started coldly. "Either you pissed someone off bad enough go get you the beating of your life time- or" she leaned so close he had to lean back. "Someone in this school needs a beating of their own." the last part was said so quietly it passed off as a whisper, but the threat in it made the injured teenage boy cringe. "So. Which is it?"

He stared at her, he played with the idea of telling her, but said nothing. Her left eyebrow twitched after thirty seconds of the tense silence. "Why do you care?" he asked the itching question before she snapped from impatience.

This was getting more confusing by the minute, she ignored his question just like how he ignored hers. Just as he was about to give a dramatic sigh and lay down again, she opened her mouth and said something he wasn't quite sure he heard correctly. Of course, with how unreal the entire situation was maybe he should start expecting the unexpected out of this strange carbon copy of Satan herself?

"Is it so strange that I do?"

This conversation was turning into nothing but questions, it was like that drama game that their teacher made them play back in junior high. But there was nothing to win in this, but he could already tell that this was going to be a tug of war of wills. Whoever lost was going to lose what walls they had up. And he wasn't quite sure if he wanted to win or lose.

"Quite frankly yes." he answered.

Her eyes flashed with some sort of emotion but he didn't catch it. Rather she slid out, picked up her duffel bag and shot him a cold glare. The idea of her leaving him out there didn't sit well with him.

"Wait, Santana." he called as she turned around. "...I know we've never got along, but-" he paused. "thank you."

Had someone told him this morning he would be thanking Santana Lopez for helping him he would have rolled his eyes and turned his nose up at them. Hell he was pretty sure if anyone told Santana she would be helping him that day she would have smacked them around. But there they were, him sitting in the back of her truck with a sprained ankle and multiple bruises and her conflicted with Santana Lopez the cheerleader and Santana Lopez who no one realized existed.

"You tell anyone and I will cut you." she said turning her head to look back at him over her shoulder.

"No one will believe me." he told her with a small smile. She smirked and turned back to face him, it faded as she eyed his bandaged foot. "I can't go to class like this." he said quietly and winced as he leaned forward too much. His entire abdominal area must be bruised.

"Do you need me to drive you home?" she asked him, he shook his head. She frowned and did her signature eye roll. "Well you can't just stay out here in my truck until you get better Hummel." she said with , an impressive dramatic sigh that he didn't expect from her. Though really he supposed Santana did have some diva in her- though more bitchy than dramatic most of the time.

"I know." he pursed his lips in thought. There was no way he was going home like this. She stood there impatiently with her foot tapping against the pavement.

"Look." she said, he was surprised she lasted so long, a full forty seconds this time. "Right now, I'm missing class because of you Hummel-"

"I wasn't aware you cared about your class attendance." he murmured under his breath, she must have supersonic hearing because she scowled at him again.

"I don't. But I do care if I fail."

"Oh please, you could miss a month of school at this place and still be fine." he said with a light shrug. "The material isn't exactly that hard-" he paused noting her darkening expression. "Don't tell me you find it hard?"

"Don't talk Hummel, not everyone is in remedial special ed classes- and stop fucking moving!" she shouted as he groaned out in pain after laying down again. There was a thump of something hitting metal and Santana was beside him again, this time though sitting beside his head.

"I'm in a great deal of pain and all you can do is yell?" he complained shutting his eyes. He could practically feel the burn holes in his head from her narrowed eyes.

"Just go the damn nurse and tell her you fell down the stairs or whatever, the woman is so retarded she'll take anything."

"And you know this how?" he sighed opening his eyes. The dark expression he expected on that Latina's face was different, it was cold and withdrawn. Her eyes met his, she simply kept her lips in a tight straight line.

"I just do." she stated simply.

"What you get in a fight once and told the nurse the victim tripped down the stairs too?" he sighed rolling his eyes.

"Unless I did more than push Fabray into lockers and pull her hair, no." she said shortly in an offended tone. "Maybe it's hard for you to understand princess, but you don't know me. At all, so don't go assuming things that you know crap about."

A wave of guilt hit him at those words, but he refused to feel guilty about this. "Oh please Santana, what do you expect me to do? With the way you act, people can only assume you're nothing but a full on bitch." he said glancing at her. She glanced away, was that hurt he saw?

"Just." she stopped and sighed, and before him flashed a strangely tender side of her he didn't expect but it was gone in a split moment. "Let's get you to the nurse."

"How did you get me out here anyways?" he grumbled as he slowly slid himself out the back of the truck, hissing all the while as his sore body screamed at him to stop moving. He did his best not to jostle his foot, and he watched in silent amazement and surprise as the cheerleader grabbed their bags. She slung them over her shoulder and then stepped to his side. With Santana supporting most of his weight they began the slow and arduous trek towards the school.

"I carried you." she said keeping her eyes forward, though they occasionally flickered over at him to make sure he wasn't hitting anything.

"You have abnormal upper body strength." he commented for the first time noticing her toned arms. Puck certainly had guns but Santana was no slouch either in that department. He supposed it was all attributed to Sue Sylvester's training regiment- though. He didn't remember Quinn ever having such strong arms, he certainly never really experienced much of the Cheerio's relentless training.

He vaguely noted that his cellphone was vibrating in his pocket, but they were already at the school doors. The bell would ring signalling the lunch break in about fifteen minutes he noted as he glanced at his watch.

"Think we can make it there before lunch?" he asked while leaning against the wall as Santana opened the door.

"We better." she grumbled as she rejoined his side. Seven minutes later, Kurt was now laying down in the nurse's office while Santana bullshitted a story about finding him in the school basement and wrapping his foot. When the nurse gave him a questioning look he nodded in agreement, damn that girl could lie.

"Alright well, I'll give a call to your father Kurt." the nurse said while carefully putting an icepack to his foot. "I'll write up a note for you Santana for the classes you missed." she said turning to the Latina who nodded her head once. While the woman walked to her desk, their eyes met.

"Thanks again." he sighed, she stepped over and put his bag down in a chair next to the bed.

"Don't mention it princess, really. Don't." she shook her head. "I'll tell the others in Glee you won't be there today." He nodded in thanks, she turned to leave but paused and glanced at him. A strange expression of, was that concern? "I know you see me as a complete bitch, but I'll make sure this doesn't happen again." she told him.

"Wait what?" he sat up ignoring the flare of pain, but she had walked right out after saying that. He stared at the open door in shock. A niggling mixed feeling stirred in his gut, a combination of fear, panic and disbelief welled up in him. Lying down again he stared up at the white stained ceiling. This entire day was just too much. Of all things to happen this was the last thing. But the fact that maybe, maybe Santana was actually worried about him had him burning with curiosity at the possibilities.

Perhaps she wouldn't be happy about it but, once something catches Kurt Hummel's attention he didn't let go without a serious battle. And the thing was Santana Lopez was more than just a HBIC, there was something under that hard exterior she put up- she cared. And more than anything he wanted to know why she cared, after all she never showed any hint of thinking of anyone other than herself and Brittany. And the last time he checked he didn't have blonde hair or girl parts.

Remembering his vibrating cell phone from before he pulled it out, unlocked it and opened the message.

**Kurt where are you? Finn said you came to school with him this morning. -Cedes**

With some hesitation he texted her back telling her the same story Santana had given the nurse. Though in this case he let her know someone had shoved him down the stairs, and in minutes of him sending the text he found his best friend at his bedside bringing a smile to his lips.

"Well?" she demanded eyes narrowed, expression dangerous.

"My dad is coming to pick me up" he told her, she shook her head wildly. He silently approved of her outfit for the day and about to voice this when she she went crazy in questions.

"Kurt." she hissed lowly glancing behind her to see the nurse step out to grab her lunch most likely. "Someone shoved you down those stairs and you're not even bothered? We have to tell someone! Who did it?"

"I didn't see." he lied swiftly, all those hours practising script lines really helped though he did feel bad not telling her. "Just let it go Mercedes." he sighed. "I'll text you about my x-ray scans and you make sure you don't miss any news that might come up today." he smiled at her brightly and used all his will power not to flinch when she lightly slapped his arm.

"x-ray! I thought you said it was a sprain?" she cried out with heightened concern. He took her hand and patted it while rolling his eyes.

"Just a precaution." he told her and almost blurted out how it was Santana Lopez who had aided him. However he kept his silence and let his best friend worry over him some more until his father appeared with the nurse. Hugging her awkwardly and air kissing her cheeks his father gave him a hand back to the car. On way to the clinic however, it only took a couple minutes for his phone to be flooded with texts by the other Glee members wishing him well and promises to visit him after he texted a thank you back and promise of shopping with Brittany, that girl was just too cute to resist even with her oddities, and the opened the last message without reading the sender.

His eyes brows shot up seeing it was from his own Hispanic saviour, it was a brief text reminding him now to say a word about her involvement. This only reminded him instead though that there was more to Santana Lopez than anyone really knew- except for perhaps Brittany. He could still remember those two playing in the sandbox together when they were small children. Carefully reassuring his father that he was fine, he texted her back and hoped he wouldn't be horribly rejected.

**As a show of thank you, I would like to propose a coffee date this weekend at the Lima Bean. My treat. -Kurt**

It was an hour later when he was home alone in his room checking over the damage on himself, when _The Bitch is Back_ by Elton John started playing. He answered half way through the chorus.

"Kurt Hummel speaking." he said while spreading the balm over a particularly large bruise on his hip.

"What are you up to dolphin?"

"Dolphin?" he balked at the new nickname which made absolutely no sense to him. She huffed on the other end and offered no explanation. "Don't you have class right now?" he asked noting the time.

"I have a spare." she said absently. "Well?" her voice was stern and demanding.

"Exactly what I said, coffee at the Lima Bean my treat in thanks." he said and hissed as he pressed down too hard on his completely blackened abdomen.

"I thought I said not to mention it Hummel." she snarled.

"Just coffee, Saturday at two. That's it, I won't say anything ever again." he promised.

There was a silence on the other end, with each passing moment he great more anxious. "Fine." she said finally. He expected her to hang up just then. "Is it fractured?" she asked surprising him, yet again that day.

"No, it's just a sprain." he replied after a stunned moment. "I'll be at school again tomorrow."

"Whatever, like I care." she huffed and then she hung up. Looking at his cell curiously he placed it down and went back to his current task. Saturday would prove interesting, and he hoped he would be able to get the answers he was looking for. His phone went off with a ring tone of Funny Girl, with a sigh he contemplated answering it. After all it was Rachel Berry calling.


	3. Chapter 3

She was in the middle of debating the merits of actually going to the Lima Bean that afternoon. But between her already finished homework to check over for the nth time and free really good coffee, the latter won out. Parking in the back lot of the Lima Bean, those few extra steps of walking added up, she stepped out of her truck, locked it and headed towards the entrance. Outside waiting for her in his usual fashionable fall clothing was her date- or whatever the hell this was.

While Kurt was in what appeared to be a dark brown knee length fall jacket with a black and white scarf tucked around his neck. His cheeks were red from the chilly breeze, and his hands were stuck deep into his coat pockets. Other than that he was as immaculate as always. Though how he managed to make an orthopaedic walking boot look good was anyone's guess.

The Latina debated turning around and going somewhere else but when he started waving at her she knew it was too late to leave. So, shoving her hands into her fur-lined coat she followed him into the cafe with the best coffee in that part of Lima. There was a bit of a line but they lined up without exchanging any words other than a couple of muffled hellos. It was hard for her to pull out her usual bitch mode, despite the chill in the air she loved the approaching winter. Summer on the other hand made her cringe with all the sweat and heat, so despite the cloudy sky she was in a fairly good mood- for her anyways.

"How do you take your coffee?" Kurt asked her as they closed in on the counter.

"Black." she stated and glanced around for an empty table. Spotting one in the corner, she turned back to the fair skinned boy. "I'll be over there." and tilted her head towards the empty table. Kurt looked over and nodded. The Latina broke away from the line up and claimed the table with a few quick strides. She absently took out her phone to check the time, barely a few minutes passed two. Sighing she glanced over to see the boy waiting for their drinks.

Even after agreeing to meet up with him over phone she still held her suspicions. After all other than the incident on Wednesday she never showed any care towards the fashionable teen. Did helping someone wrap an ankle work that well in gaining favour? She was sure that barely made up even a quarter of the crap she made him live through. Dark coffee coloured eyes looked up as the seat in front of her was occupied and a steaming cup was placed in front of her. She met the blue teal eyes of her fellow Glee member and waited for him to say something.

Kurt made a show of opening the lid of his drink and blowing on it, ignoring her drilling gaze. Irritation trickled through her as each second ticked by. She knew she had a shit amount of patience but he was the one wanted her to have coffee with him dammit! Not about to lose she picked up her own drink blew on it and sipped it. The rich, bitter and dark flavour of the coffee covered her tongue and she shut her eyes in appreciation. The tension from her growing impatience and irritation melted on her third sip. Finally the sound of a throat being cleared had her looking up to see Kurt now staring at her. His lady lips were drawn into a thin line and his perfectly shaped eyebrows furrowed. She raised an eyebrow at him in challenge. What the fuck did he want?

"What are you up to?" he asked her, and a second eyebrow joined the first high on her forehead.

"That's what I should be asking you Princess." she said dryly. Putting down her coffee she crossed her arms and put on her signature bitch scowl that she had perfected since she was a small child. Bitchiness and confidence brought a person a long way, she learned early on- even if not entirely real.

"This." he pointed down at his coffee. "Is for Wednesday, what I'm talking to you about is yesterday and the day before." he said.

She merely sipped her coffee and shot him a disinterested look. She hadn't intended for him to notice, but he was always a little too observant she supposed. It was best to play the oblivious card in times like this.

"I don't know what you're talking about Dolphin." she sighed and looked down at her nails absently. The orange was chipping off, maybe it was time to try out those new colours Brittany had bought for her birthday?

"Don't play dumb Santana." he frowned. "I know it's you alright? I remember what you said that day when you left the nurse's office." she opened her mouth to retort but he held up his hand and continued on ignoring the furious glare he was now under. It was nice to know her glare was still in full effect as he seemed to shift uncomfortably and dropped his held up hand in a couple of seconds. He even scooted his chair back subtly, she still noticed. "I appreciate it. For being there for me before and after school but you don't need to. This is my problem." he told her seriously.

"Yeah, cause the last time you tried to take care of this problem you ended up with that." she nodded down at his walking boot. She rolled her eyes, god was this boy stupid or just ungrateful? Here she was going out of her way being nice- which wasn't something she did- and all he wanted to do was tell her to stop? Did he have a death wish?

"Please. Karofsky is my problem Santana." he said lowly. "He's going to get suspicious, and then you'll end up being one of his targets too."

"If that douche bag thinks he can take on this." she motioned at herself and raise a cocky eyebrow. "The boy is even dumber than I thought he was-"

"He's twice as big as you, probably three times as heavy." Kurt hissed at her leaning forward towards her. She scowled back at him. "Santana I'm a good five inches taller than you, and look what he did to me!"

"You're also on the bottom of the food chain and clearly you don't know how to fight to save your life." she retorted coldly, he tensed at her words. "If you haven't noticed Lady Lips, I'm not someone to mess with."

Kurt furrowed his brows. "Maybe for the average football jock but Karofsky is different, he has motive."

This drew her attention quickly and the pale skinned teen quickly shut his mouth realizing he had said to much. Motive did he say? She tilted her head and examined him carefully, thinking back on all the incidents that she knew about, she couldn't really figure it out. A little annoyance flickered at her curiosity, great now she wanted to get even more involved. It wasn't smart, Hummel was right but even so- something about finding him in a crumbled heap in the trash did something to her. She didn't want to admit it but, hell she wanted to protect him. The boy had her respect, he had guts, he also had an admirable bitch inside of him as well.

"What motive?" she asked lowly, she narrowed her eyes on him hoping the intensity of her stare would make him just say it. But the boy held strong and just looked out the window, his hands tightened around the cup in his hands.

"It's not my place to say, but he won't stop Santana. And you hanging around will only make him more angry- he'll start thinking you're friends with me and he'll go after you too."

"He doesn't scare me-"

"This isn't any of your business!" Kurt shouted suddenly losing his temper, his hand slammed against the wooden table and he stood up. She stared at him with widened eyes, did he just yell at _her?_ Holy shit she didn't give him enough credit! The Lima Bean was silent, the other customers and staff stared over at them from the outburst. As the seconds trickled by they began returning to their own tasks.

However Kurt stayed standing, his cheeks flushed with red form frustration. The Latina on the other hand crossed her legs and uncrossed her arms, she cocked a perfect brow at him.

"Chill Dolphin, sit." she nodded to him. He licked his lips and his cheeks turned redder realizing he had completely blew his top. He sat down and anxiously shuffled on his chair. He took a long drink from his coffee. Then he looked like a scared little puppy as he met her stare. She smirked, were his hands shaking? They were! She laughed lowly. "I'm not going to hit you." she reassured him the stiffness in his shoulders didn't go away. She let him stew a little and took a drink from her bitter dark coffee goodness. If only she had a bar of dark chocolate right then.

The olive skinned girl licked her luscious lips and let out a laugh seeing the boy in front of her continue to fidget. "Sorry" Kurt blurted out, and Santana just smirked at him.

"It's cool, you're right." she shrugged. "I'll lay off."

"You will?"

"I'll mind my own business if you mind yours." she said. The look of conflict appeared on his face, the boy was too easy to read honestly. She had, had a feeling he wanted to stick his nose in her life. Though she preferred not to let him take care of this by himself, she had her own neck to look out for.

"Fine." he sighed. "There goes all my plans of making Mission Impossible costumes." he said dramatically. She rolled her eyes and let herself snicker at the thought of him in cliche black spy suits.

"How unfortunate." she said sarcastically. "This is our deal then." she told him. "If you even try to snoop in my business Hummel I'm dealing with that meat head myself."

"Well, at least I know there is something I could have snooped in." he mumbled, he held out his hand to her and she shook it. "I suppose it's too much to ask for you to talk to me like this at school?" he asked her with a wry smile. She just laughed, stood up and walked out at that.

* * *

><p>She watched from her seat in her truck as Kurt left a few minutes later, sipping her free drink she watched as his car pulled out onto the street and drove off. She had to give it to the guy, he definitely deserved her respect now. She noted to herself to drop the nickname Lady Lips, putting her drink into the cup holder she pulled out her keys and stuck one into the ignition. As the motor roared to life her cellphone began ringing loudly playing <em>The Bitch is Back<em> by Sinergy. Glancing at the caller ID she smiled softly. Pressing a button she brought it up to her ear to answer.

"Hey Britt Britt." she greeted softly. Her eyes shut as her best friend chattered on the other end. Her smile faded and she scowled. "What?" she bit out. "Oh. I see." she gritted out. "No, it's fine. Whatever." she said lowly. "Yeah, see you." she hung out threw her cellphone on the dashboard and slammed her fist into the steering wheel.

Brittany never ditched their girl nights. Never. Not in all the years they knew each other. But here she was sitting in her car alone, having just found out she couldn't sleep over at the blonde's house that weekend because she was spending the night with her fucking crippled, coke-glasses boyfriend.

Santana never knew she could hate someone as much as she could hate Artie Abrams until then.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Sorry about the late update, but the fall semester has begun so classes, the next chapter shouldn't take as long. Also I have no beta, so this is just me rereading my chapters over and over again. If you see any mistakes mention them to me and I'll correct them right away. Thanks for reading.

* * *

><p>She woke up not to the sound of her radio alarm but to shouting outside her bedroom door followed by loud thumps of either a fist or foot hitting the old worn down wood. The distinctly male voice of her mother's boyfriend made her both cringe and scowl. Casting one wary eye at her barricaded door, she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.<p>

Shoving off the sweaters and thin sheets she had pulled over herself last night in a fit of cold; she rolled her eyes once the shouting and thumps stopped. Pulling out a fresh uniform she pulled it on before brushing and tying her hair up. Gathering last night's math homework she shoved it into her Cheerio's duffel bag before sliding her window up and open. She checked her phone for messages and found Brittany's customary good morning with a heart and smiley face.

Despite being ditched last weekend it made her lips quirk up and she quickly texted back her own greeting and telling her she would be over in bit to pick her up. Her ears perked up at the sound of a door slamming closed, then the rumbling and squeal of a car driving off. Tucking her phone into her bra she grabbed her bag and car keys before nimbly hopping out the window of her room. White sneakers hit sickly yellow grass and she walked around from the side of the small one floor house. She peeked around the corner to double check to see the black Dodge Challenger gone from outside her house's front yard and walked to the front door opening it and stepping back inside.

She barely took a double look at the thin, middle aged Latina in the kitchen sipping coffee and muttering to herself while watching her with dark beady eyes. Instead she strode into the washroom, did her business and double checked her reflection. While touching up her mascara the woman who was her mother appeared in the doorway.

"You can't keep ignoring him mija." the ghost of a woman said lowly to her, her hands clenched around the white mug in her hands. Santana kept her own dark eyes trained on the mirror. Finally she puckered her lips as she finished applying her lip gloss before replying.

"He's your boyfriend, not mine. So yeah, I can ignore him." she stated neutrally. She turned and brushed passed her worn down mother.

"It makes him angry when you do." her mother muttered lowly.

"Well that's your problem then." Santana scoffed, she tightened her ponytail once more and stepped into the kitchen to quickly rinse out a travel mug before filling it with black coffee. She twisted the top on and turned to face her mother. Her eyes were sunken in, dark bags, thin and tired looking. Her once beautiful dark hair was growing grey, and not from age. "I told you he would be no good for you Mom." she told her coldly.

"We need him" the older Latina cried out desperately. Santana shook her head.

"No. You need him." she said sharply. "Or, you think you do." she sneered at the woman before her. Weak willed, a victim and completely dependent on a man who did nothing but yell, scream and abuse her. Santana had long ago promised herself, she would never be this woman. She would never turn out like her mother. She strode out of the house before the repetitive argument was continued.

Her hands were gripping the steering wheel of her car so tightly that by the time she released it to honk the car horn to call Brittany out her forearms were a little sore. Taking a drink from her travel mug she looked up as the passenger door flew open and her bubbly blonde best friend hopped in.

"Morning San!" Brittany chirped to her, she picked up Santana's duffel and moved it to her right side and slid over so their thighs touched as it was a bench front. Pink lips pressed against a tanned cheek and Santana returned the greeting with a murmur against the soft cheek of Brittany.

As the red Chevrolet truck pulled out of the Pierce's driveway and towards William McKinley, Santana listened with a small smile as Brittany chattered on about how her cats Charity and Lord Tubbington were finally getting a divorce while playing with the radio stations. Just as they were brainstorming what imaginative yet cruel insults Sue would scream at them that day, Santana pulled into her usual parking space. Not only was it out of the way from the other student's but it was also closest to the football field.

"Why don't we have sleepovers are your house anymore San?" Brittany asked curiously as she hopped out of the car holding both their bags. Santana shut the driver's side door hard and locked it before meeting Brittany in front of the car hood.

"Cause your house is better than mine." she said already used to this constant question. Brittany frowned at that answer and handed her the duffel bag which the dark haired girl pulled over her shoulder. "We've gone over this already B." Santana sighed.

"I know, your mom's boyfriend is mean. But can't I come over when he's not there?" Brittany asked softly. "I miss your mom's cooking-"

Santana glanced at her best friend who was staring at her with a pleading look. Usually her puppy pout worked but this wasn't something that Santana would give in to. Brittany didn't need to know her family crap, she really didn't.

"My mom doesn't really cook anymore." she said instead, she held out her pinky to the taller. Brittany sighed and hooked their pinkies together, they strode towards the locker room together. Santana let out a frustrated growl seeing the pout on the dancer's face. "How about we go grab ice cream after school today?" she suggested, it was an instant reaction. Brittany's face lit up and she nodded excitedly. Grinning Santana tugged Brittany a little faster before they were late to practice. "Alright, we'll even get the sundae with all those sprinkles you like." she said. Her grin widened as she heard Brittany's reply.

"You're the best San!"

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><p>Practice ended with a sore back and thus her having a grouchy mood again. She skipped first period in favour of a hot long shower, and just to skip for the hell of it. Second period was a blur of note-taking and a pop quiz on calculating molar mass. And as the halls filled with students getting their lunch or heading to the cafeteria, the fiery brunette stood waiting at her locker waiting for Brittany. She checked her phone and found no texts, a creeping worry niggled into her mind and she was off looking around for her best friend. After ten minutes of scaring the other students, making another Cheerio cry and tripping a band loser she enter the choir room to find Brittany, Quinn and Tina listening to Rachel Berry rant.<p>

"What the hell is this? No one told me we were having a Glee girls meeting." she bitched out, her eyes looked from Berry to Brittany who looked down with a guilty expression on her face.

She narrowed her eyes as she looked to Quinn and Tina next. Tina being the typical scared shy girl she was looked away and began fidgeting but Quinn met her stare head on and raised a challenging eyebrow and a smirk. The brunette scowled and turned back to Berry who had been saying something about only girls who were dating.

"I'm dating Puck." she said though that was a complete lie, she hasn't dated him since he knocked up Quinn. Mostly she just slept with him now just to get out of her house, at least he wasn't a terrible lay she supposed.

"No you're getting naked with him." Quinn said with a condescending smile.

Making a mental note to bitch slap the head cheerleader later, Santana scowled as Tina reminded her that her drinking and sex buddy was seriously losing street cred these days even after getting out of juvie. Shooting a glare in the Dwarf's direction she stormed out of the chorus room hurt and dammit, lonely.

Her feet brought her automatically to her locker, as she put in the combination her mind drifted to what she had walked in on and got kicked out of. She snorted, honestly Berry thought that Ken, Other Asian, Finnocence and a cripple could scare Karofsky? Oh the naivety of the short Jewish little hobbit. At best the combination of those losers would only piss off the centre lineman further, which meant that Dolphin would be getting it even worst.

Re-applying a layer of lip gloss she puckered her lips and smacked them together. Coffee eyes glanced over to the side as Karofsky walked by, the sound of another student hitting the lockers followed his bulky frame. She peered around the locker door in time to see Karofsky push Kurt so hard he tumbled back and slammed his head into another student's open locker. Mercedes hurried forward to help the fashion diva.

She didn't need to look in her mirror to know she was frowning or that her eyebrows were knitted together. The sight of someone like Karofsky bullying someone as small as Kurt in comparison really was a sad sight. She didn't know why the big idiot was so obsessed with Dolphin. It's not like the pale skinned boy went around hitting on every person with a Y chromosome, other than boasting his fashion and artistic prowess- not to mention his knowledge in skin care; Porcelain kept to himself.

Santana shook her head and forced herself to roll her eyes. It wasn't any of her business, she had promised not to butt her head into it- and despite what people thought she kept her word. Because when it came to the streets, your word meant everything. One lie, one back-stab and your reputation was completely shat for.

Even so she found her eyes watching carefully as Karofsky neared where a particular diva pair were standing oblivious to the closing distance between them and the football player. It was like slow motion, a slushy was handed off to the jock and in mere seconds the cherry flavoured ice beverage was all over Kurt's hair, clothes, bag and shoes. A dark laugh, a stare down and the attacker was gone around the corner.

Frowning at herself she shook her head again, with a snap her locker was closed. Turning she walked off absently replying to Brittany's apology text on the way.

* * *

><p>She had been sitting outside the ice cream parlour watching Brittany devour a triple Sunday with extra rainbow sprinkles on top when it happened. Just as she licked a wandering sprinkle from the taller's cheek her phone started ringing. Pulling back with a grumble she pulled it out from her bra and answered without checking for the ID.<p>

"This is Lopez." she said with disinterest, she shot an indulging smile at her best friend who had now gotten whip cream on the tip of her nose somehow. Dammit, that girl was just too adorable for her own good. Though as she met gleaming blue eyes she knew it was done on purpose. Reaching her hand over she swiped the blob of cream from the tip of her nose and sucked it from her thumb. She smirked as her best friend pouted at that action. Mocha eyes glanced to the side as she listened to the caller, her smirk faded quickly and her face went blank. "Where?" she asked. She ignored the fact that Brittany was now staring at her worriedly, rather it felt like she was stuck in some sort of air tunnel. The rushing sound in her ears was loud and the only thing breaking through was the female on the line. Her heart was pounding and she had to grip the edge of the table to still her shaking hand. "I'll be there." she heard herself say, she hung up just barely and dropped her cellphone on the table and stared at it.

Did she hear correctly? It had to be a joke but as she checked the caller history, she shut her eyes and grimaced.

"San? San what's wrong?" Brittany called out to her, a pair of arms wrapped around her shoulders. Despite it being in public, she didn't care- not in that one moment. She turned and pressed her face against Brittany's red Cheerio jacket and just stayed there.

Even now over Brittany's hushed whispering comforts, she could hear it.

"_I'm sorry Miss Lopez,but your mother is in the hospital."_

The world was really, really fucked up and so was her life.


End file.
